LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- It took the Los Angeles Clippers 27
games to do something that took them 50 games to accomplish last
season.

Maurice Taylor scored half of his 26 points in the decisive
fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers matched their win
total from last season with a 103-100 victory over the Boston
Celtics.

The fourth quarter turned out to be the exact opposite of the
third, when the Celtics outscored Los Angeles, 34-20, to take a
76-68 advantage.

Sparked by Taylor, who scored eight points, the Clippers opened
the final period with a 17-2 burst to take an 83-78 lead with
6:23 remaining. Taylor played all 48 minutes, connecting on
12-of-22 shots from the field.

Boston trailed by seven with a little more than a minute to play
but rallied within three in the waning seconds and had a chance
to send the game to overtime. But Dana Barros' 3-pointer hit
the front of the rim as time expired.

Antoine Walker scored 28 points and Paul Pierce, activated from
the injured list before the game, added 24 for Boston, which has
dropped 10 straight road games since a season-opening 103-90
victory at Toronto. The Celtics are 1-10 away from the
FleetCenter.

"We had our opportunities," Walker said. "It's time for us to
look ourselves in the mirror and learn how to finish these games
off. We work hard for three quarters just to lose in the
fourth."

Tyrone Nesby contributed 15 points and Troy Hudson had 15 and
nine assists for the Clippers (9-18), who were 9-41 in the
abbreviated 1999 season. Los Angeles has won three straight and
four of its last five games.

"I didn't realize it matches our number of wins all of last
year," Taylor said. "But we're a good home team and we're
getting better."

The Clippers played without injured regulars Derek Anderson and
Michael Olowokandi.

After Lamar Odom converted a driving layup to tie it, 78-78,
Taylor hit a jumper to put the Clippers ahead for good. Nesby
followed with a 3-pointer for a five-point advantage.

Hudson made a layup with 71 seconds remaining to provide a
100-93 lead. However, the Clippers did everything possible to
give away the game down the stretch.

Tony Battie hit a layup for the Celtics before Hudson made
1-of-2 free throws. Walker, who went 12-of-20 from the floor,
had a dunk with 23 seconds to go and, after a turnover, Battie
made 1-of-2 from the line, cutting the margin to 101-100 with
six seconds to go.

Hudson made two free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining for a
three-point lead. Following a timeout, the Celtics inbounded at
mid-court and went to Barros but his shot from just to the left
of the top of the key hit the front rim.

"I knew I had to make both of those. If I made one of those,
then a 3-point basket could have lost us the game," Hudson said.
"We'd really made a good comeback amd I didn't want that to
happen."

Odom, who battled the flu, had 15 points and 11 rebounds and
Eric Piatkowski also scored 15 points for the Clippers, who shot
46 percent (41-of-88) and were outrebounded, 44-36.

"I was aggressive even though I didn't have that much energy,"
Odom said. "I'll get rest today and tomorrow and be ready for
the next game. It takes a lot for me to stay out of the game."

Nesby scored all of his 15 points in the first half, helping the
Clippers open a 48-42 advantage. But Pierce and Walker came
alive in the third quarter, scoring 11 and nine points,
respectively, as Boston had a 34-20 advantage in the period.